The man died yesterday at the site being converted into a £1.5bn deep water port. His body was recovered from a recently excavated pit.

The £400m contract for the first phase of the job is being run by a joint venture of Laing O’Rourke and Dredging International.

The victim’s name or employer have yet to be confirmed by the authorities.

A statement released by client DP World London Gateway said:  “We can confirm a subcontractor died in the early hours of Saturday 23 April whilst working on the London Gateway port construction site.

“Our thoughts are with his family at this very difficult time.

“We are working fully to support the emergency services and the Health and Safety Executive in their investigation to find out the cause of the incident.”

A spokeswoman for Essex Police said: “We were called shortly before 5am on Saturday.

“Police are working with the company to establish the exact circumstances which led to the man’s death.”